SC to hear plea challenging NEET ordinance on July 7

7/4/2016

The Supreme Court will hear the plea challenging the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) ordinance on July 7.

The matter was listed for hearing on Monday before the CJI bench , that referred the case to the concerned bench.

Activist Anand Rai, known for exposing the Vyapam scam, has filed a petition in the apex court against Centre’s decision to promulgate the ordinance.

The petition that sought the quashing of the ordinance questioned the Centre’s flip-flop on the issue.

The Centre had initially accepted the apex court’s order and later partially reversed it through the ordinance.

The Centre’s decision was in violation of Section 14 (right to equality), Section 21 (right to life) in terms of its arbitrary character and with regards to the students who would suffer irreparably because of the constantly changing stand by the centre, the petition stated.

The petitioner said that various associations across the country have to be treated with equality under law and administrative authority should be exercised to assure a degree of fair decision-making.

The Centre had given an undertaking and fulfilled criteria for a unified NEET, and yet within four weeks, it passed the ordinance, the petition said, calling the ordinance “arbitrary”.